Back in June of 1998, TopWare released a unique real-time
strategy game entitled Emergency: Fighters for Life. Within the
game, you controlled a number of emergency rescue teams, such
as an ambulance crew and a police force, as you went about a
daily routine of saving lives. If anything, it was a unique concept
that unfortunately fell short due to the fact there was actually very
little strategy to the game at all. Two years later, WizardWorks has
released its sequel, Emergency Rescue Firefighters. As the name
states, you're no longer in control of an entire city's worth of
rescue teams, but simply the fire department. Fire is one of
nature's deadliest weapons and it'll be your job to subdue the
deadly threat and bring resolution to each and every crisis. With
that said,
you'd think the developers would have learned from the mistakes
of the original, but Emergency Rescue Firefighters is actually
worse than it's predecessor.

Firefighters is a very easy game to jump right into. The menu
system is extremely basic and once you've entered your name,
you're ready to go. The game opens with a set of three tutorial
missions that allow you get comfortable with the interface as well
as the duties of each of the different firefighters under your
command. There are five types of firefighters: those that shoulder
the hose to extinguish the fire, those with water tanks, those
wielding axes to break down doors, others carrying shovels to dig
trenches in an attempt to stop fires from spreading, and finally the
fine folks who actually enter buildings and rescue those trapped
inside. Beyond the tutorial missions, there are 20 other scenarios
each featuring a unique environment or situation. You'll fight fires
indoors and on multiple floors as well as outdoors in parks and at
traffic accidents.

Trouble rears it's ugly head the moment you get to the scene of a
fire. Much like the original game, controlling the scene is
cumbersome to say the least. Emergency Rescue Firefighters uses
a three-quarters top-down view so controlling your firefighters
plays out much like any other strategy title. The problem lies in the
intelligence level of each of your firefighters. It's extremely difficult
to get them to do any action, let alone properly. Many a time, my
firefighters would enter a blaze only to be engulfed in flames.
You'd think that once lit aflame, the men would stop, drop and roll
or perhaps another comrade would come to the rescue, but not
here. The only thing missing from this game is the soundtrack
'Burn Baby Burn'. You'll find yourself giving orders multiple times
to single individuals before they begin their given assignment. If
the mission only requires you put out the fire, you'll have little
difficulty doing such. All you have to do is make sure you have
plenty of men with water tanks and hoses and the situation will be
under control soon enough. If somebody is trapped inside in need
of rescuing, you'll quickly see the ignorant AI in action.

Emergency Rescue Firefighters plays exactly like its predecessor.
Once you reach the area in question, everything seems to be
scripted. There's really only one way to about things and that
doesn't quite define strategy to me. If you don't perform the correct
tasks in the correct order, you'll be forced to replay the scenario
until you figure out the correct route. Does that sound like much
fun to you?

Visually, the game uses animated graphics much like you would
find in the Sims. They're slightly dated graphics but they work
nicely with the style of gameplay. In terms of audio, there's very
little to be desired here. The music that accompanies each
scenario does a decent job conveying the sense of urgency with
each situation, but the ambient sounds are horrible. A constant
cackling of the fire all but takes over the environment sounds
while at the scene and although there are some voice-overs, they
all seem extremely unrealistic.

So what does it boil down too? You've got a budget real-time
strategy game that is relatively horrible. The idea itself isn't so bad
but just about every aspect of this game has been poorly
implemented. Whether it be the so-called strategy elements or the
absence of any intelligence from your team members whatsoever,
it all comes down to a game that isn't fun or interesting.